Responding to the College Democrats’ assertion that Bush has been dishonest about the cost of war, Silvestri said that the Democrats are not in the best position to make such an appraisal.

“I’d have to say that President Bush’s economic advisors probably have a little bit better of a handle on the economic situation than the Harvard College Democrats,” he said.

The Democrats have joined HIPJ, the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) and four other groups in sponsoring the “emergency” rally, scheduled for tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. in front of the Science Center.

Skomarovsky said the club is calling the rally an “emergency” because of the imminenece of a potential American attack.

“The decision seems to be coming up in the very near future, and meanwhile the Bush administration seems...like it’s only squeezing the trigger tighter,” he said. “Just now is probably the last chance that the international community and the anti-war movement in the United States has to really put the pressure on.”

But McGeary said the decision to release the statement yesterday was in no way related to the timetable for a military invasion.

“Obviously we understand the country may be going to war very soon, but that didn’t really influence our decision,” he said.

McGeary said that although some members of the College Democrats’ board were initially concerned about joining forces with anti-war groups, he said he hopes that the wide spectrum of perspectives will strengthen the rally.

“There were some reservations that some of the reasons that HIPJ opposes the war we don’t agree with,” he said. “Even if the organization had different reasons, that’s fine, it simply makes the rally stronger and more broad based,”

McGeary said that the statement was not intended as a criticism of national Democratic figures who have supported the war, such as Massachusetts Senator and presidential hopeful John F. Kerry.

But he did say that Democrats should be more critical of Bush’s policies.

“There has not been enough criticism of where the administration’s efforts have been,” McGeary said. “Most importantly the administration has been focusing almost entirely on Iraq to the expense of homeland security, which should be the primary concern.”